First there was the Expos reunion in June, organized by the Montreal Baseball Project, which is headed by former player Warren Cromartie. Then the Conference Board of Canada reported in August that the economic and demographic trends suggest Montreal could support a major-league team.

“The professional sports scene in Canada will continue to expand over the next 25 years,” wrote Glen Hodgson and Mario Lefebvre, adding Montreal “already possesses the basic market conditions required to support a MLB franchise and will strengthen its position over our forecast horizon.”

And on Aug. 29 ESPN.com published an article by Jim Caple under the headline: Let’s bring baseball back to Montreal.

Wrote Caple: “The shame of it is that the Expos once were the best team in baseball, and they also were well supported. They outdrew the Yankees in the early ’80s and the Mets in the early ’90s. But the 1994 strike put an end to the World Series hopes of a first-place team that had Pedro Martinez, Larry Walker, Moises Alou and Marquis Grissom on the roster. The Expos never recovered, thanks in large part to (owner Jeffrey) Loria. After he salted the earth, poisoned the water and released radiation in Montreal, baseball finally moved the franchise to Washington in 2005.”

Cromartie is hoping to hold a press conference in Montreal before the end of the major-league season to update the progress of the Montreal Baseball Project as it works at trying to bring a major-league team back to the city. He also promises that the MBP website (mbp2012.com) will be working again soon after improvements and additions to the site are completed.

Cromartie said his personal highlight of this summer’s Expos reunion – which included a sold-out dinner and auction, a golf tournament and a fan fair and kids’ clinics – was reuniting with former teammates Andre Dawson and Ellis Valentine, who once formed what was known as “the best outfield in baseball”.

“I was happy to see Ellis Valentine because we hadn’t seen each other going on 30 years,” Cromartie said. “It was nice to be on stage with Andre Dawson and him … the best outfield in baseball that they’re still talking about today. That was a big treat for all three of us because we hadn’t stood by each others’ side since we took the picture for the cover of The Sporting News in 1978 or ’79. That was a real proud moment for myself to be with Ellis and Dawson.”

Cromartie added: “This past summer, spending it in Montreal, has been the most gratifying and fulfilling experience since I retired in ’91.”

You can read my column on Cromartie and the Montreal Baseball Project by clicking here.

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